I. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to communication, and more specifically to techniques for extending coverage of a wireless communication network.
II. Background
Wireless communication networks are widely deployed to provide various communication services such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, etc. These wireless networks may be multiple-access networks capable of supporting multiple users by sharing the available network resources. Examples of such multiple-access networks include Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) networks, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) networks, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) networks, Orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) networks, etc.
In a wireless network, a wireless device (e.g., a cellular phone) may communicate with a base station via the downlink and uplink. The downlink (or forward link) refers to the communication link from the base station to the wireless device, and the uplink (or reverse link) refers to the communication link from the wireless device to the base station. The wireless device may successfully communicate with the base station if the base station can achieve a target received signal quality or better for the wireless device and vice versa. However, the wireless device and/or the base station may not be able to achieve the target received signal quality in certain operating scenarios. For example, the wireless device may be too far from the base station and/or may be indoor within a home or a building. It may be desirable for the wireless device to be able to obtain communication services even in these operating scenarios.
There is therefore a need in the art for techniques to improve coverage of a wireless network.